Easebourne () is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

, Anglican parish and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

District of

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, England. It is half a mile (0.8 km) north of

Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town and civil parish in the Chichester District in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother (Western), River Rother, inland from the English Channel and north of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first reco ...

, across the River Rother on the A272 and A286 roads. The parish includes the hamlet of Henley to the north. In the 2001 census there were 708 households with a total population of 1,717.

History

Easebourne (''Eseburne'') was listed in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as an ancient

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

, an extensive area reaching as far afield as Graffham and Cocking to the south, Stedham to the west and Tillington to the east, as well as two hamlets that were not parishes: Todham to the southeast and Buddington to the west; in total it included 12 settlements containing 276 households. In 1861, the population was 859, and the area of the parish .

Governance

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

of the same name exists. This ward includes

Lodsworth Lodsworth is a small village, ecclesiastical parish and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester Districts of England, district of West Sussex, England. It is situated between Midhurst and Petworth, half a mile north of the A272 road, ...

and at the 2011 census had a population of 2,492.

Amenities

There is one public house in Easebourne, the ''White Horse'', and one in Henley, the ''Duke Of Cumberland''. The ''Rother Inn'' closed in 1994 and the ''Holly Tree'' in 2004.

Cowdray Park Cowdray Park refers to * Cowdray Park, Gauteng, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa *Cowdray Park, West Sussex The park lies near Easebourne, West Sussex, in the South Downs National Park. The estate belongs to Viscount Cowdray, whose famil ...

, to the east of the village, has a

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

course, and is home to a cricket club and a first-class

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

club.

Parish

The parish church of St Mary is 13th century or earlier, and is a Grade I listed building. The parish includes the hamlet of Henley to the north, where there was a Mission Hall established in 1885, since closed. In the 2001 census there were 708 households with a total population of 1,717 of whom 785 were economically active.

Notable buildings

Including the parish church, there are 88

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

s in the parish of Easebourne. Adjacent to the cricket ground lie the ruins of the Tudor Cowdray House, built as a mansion with castle features. Started in 1520, it was completed by 1542, but was devastated by fire in 1793. A restoration project in the early 20th century helped to stabilise the ruins. Easebourne Priory was built for ten Augustinian canonesses and was founded before 1238 by the de Bohun family who were from St. Ann's Hill in nearby Midhurst. On the northern edge of Easebourne village on the A286 road Budgenor Lodge, converted into flats in 2006, is the former Midhurst Union

Workhouse In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as Scottish poorhouse, poorh ...

which was opened in 1794 by a Gilbert Union of seventeen parishes. From 1835 it was run and enlarged by the Midhurst Poor Law Union, serving 26 parishes. The bridge over the River Rother, which forms the boundary between

parish's North Street and Easebourne parish's Easebourne Lane, is a listed structure, built in 1826.

Notable people

Anti-apartheid activist Helen Joseph was born in the village in 1905. Rear-Admiral Francis Buller lived in Easebourne in retirement. Actors

Laurence Fox Laurence Paul Fox (born 26 May 1978) is an English actor and right-wing political activist. A member of the British entertainment industry's Fox family, he graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and debuted in the film '' The Hole'' ...

and

Billie Piper Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer who is best known for her portrayal as Rose Tyler in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2006, 2008, 2010). She initially gained recognition as a singer a ...

were married in St Mary's Church in 2007.

References

External links

Further historical information and sources on GENUKI
{{authority control Villages in West Sussex Chichester District